Page 3995 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 1 December 2021
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they were not propping me up. I also thank Charlotte Menagh, who stepped in at short notice when young Mr Evans went off to save the world in uniform.
Many thanks to all of my colleagues, headed by our illustrious leaders, Ms Lee and Mrs Jones, for an exceptional year, under trying circumstances. I make special mention of the staff in the leader’s office, who always go above and beyond; and, of course, all of the staff that make this happen here in the Assembly.
I want to say, genuinely, thanks to those opposite. By and large, I think that the level of our debate is much more palatable than is the case in many other parliaments. When I look across at members on the other side, I can genuinely say that there is nobody there who I despise. They might despise me on occasions. I know that on occasions, Mr Assistant Speaker, debate gets willing, but as we head towards Christmas I would like to think that we can genuinely wish the best to all of our political opponents, to take the gloves off and pat each other on the back for getting through what has been a most extraordinary year.
Additionally, in the Kumbaya spirit of this particular address, I would like to reflect on this: there are two parliaments in this town, and I know that there are observers who sometimes scoff at ours for being insignificant. But, based on the Jenkins review, which was released yesterday, I know which parliament I would rather be working in. This is a large workplace. Obviously, it is not as large as the one up on the hill, but it is still a large workplace. No workplace of this size is perfect or has an unblemished record in this space. But I think that we should be proud of the culture in this place. Speaking from the viewpoint of a member of a majority female parliamentary Liberal Party, with an all-female leadership team, we should all reflect on what we achieve on a daily basis in being a safe and respectful workplace. I am sure there is still more work to be done, and I know that that work is ongoing, but I think that stuff is really important. I think we should reflect on that.
I say to everyone: recharge, enjoy the break and get ready for a fight next year, because there will be one.
William Hovell Drive—community consultation
MR CAIN (Ginninderra) (4.43): I will be saving my lengthier valedictory speech for the adjournment debate tomorrow. I rise because something came up within the last week that I feel I must bring to the attention of this Assembly, and that is the consultation, or lack thereof, on the duplication of William Hovell Drive. As members would be aware, there was patchy consultation at the development approval stage of this. As a result of that, I wrote to the minister asking for an extension on the consultation period and for DA placement to be improved for visibility.
It was good to see some positive responses to that, so I hoped that that would be a sign of things to come. Sadly, I was disappointed. I was glad to hear that the government had organised two further community consultation sessions, one on Saturday and one on Monday afternoon. Unfortunately, the descriptors for the location of these community consultations were vague and broad, and it meant they were very difficult to locate.
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